Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I certainly welcome that. I have heard about the costs involved from at least two local authorities. Any measures on that front would be welcome. Has the Department looked at the trials that are being run in respect of non-conventional charging locations, such as, for example, lamp posts? Dr. O’Grady might come back to me on that.

My other quick supplementary question relates to VRT. For a multitude of different reasons, Brexit and other matters, the second-hand car market has collapsed, as, no doubt, our guests are very much aware. This is because part of our market was sourced in the UK. That option is no longer viable. The primary reason that it is no longer a viable option is VRT.

The number of EVs on the road in the UK is obviously increasing dramatically, as it is here. Over the next year or two a second-hand market in EVs will become available. I wonder if the Department of Transport, in conjunction with the Department of Finance, needs to start thinking about that in the context of how we can increase the number of EVs on our roads. It is not available, but it will become available soon. I wonder if there is any means, not specifically relating to VRT, of reducing the cost of EVs in Ireland. If you do a comparison across the European Union you can see that the most expensive vehicles in Europe right now are in Ireland. List prices on EVs in Ireland are higher than any of our European neighbours, by and large, although there are a few exceptions. By and large, our prices are the highest. That is because of the additions that we add on to the cost to our consumers. This is notwithstanding the generous incentive scheme, as Dr. O’Grady rightly pointed out. While this question may not be answered now, it is something that the Department needs to think about, particularly in the context of the second-hand market. It is also a matter of increasing the number of options for people. If they must buy a car, let it be an EV. Can we incentivise that in some way?